UMIUJAQ, QC, Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - At a press conference in
Nunavik, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and
Parks Yves-François Blanchet confirmed that the Québec government will
establish the Parc national Tursujuq, which will become the biggest
national park in Québec, but also the biggest in eastern continental
North America. Minister Blanchet made the announcement accompanied by
his Parliamentary Assistant Scott McKay, Maggie Emudluk, Chairperson of
the Kativik Regional Government (KRG), and Michael Gordon,
Vice-President Economic Development of the Makivik Corporation.

"The Parc national Tursujuq has an area of over 26 000 km2, equivalent to 54 times the area of Montréal Island and will triple the
area of the network of Québec's national parks. It is the biggest
protected area dedicated to the conservation of sensitive species in
northern biodiversity and the natural landscapes of great beauty on the
eastern shore of Hudson Bay. Moreover, the addition of most of the
drainage basin of the Rivière Nastapoka to the territory of the park
enables us to achieve the goal of ensuring that protected areas cover
the equivalent of 9% of Québec's territory," Minister Blanchet noted.

It is the third national park to be established in Nunavik after the
Parc national des Pingualuit, located southwest of the Inuit community
of Kangiqsujuaq, and the Parc national Kuururjuaq, located in the Monts
Torngat east of Ungava Bay near the community of Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Maggie Emudluk, Chairperson of the KRG, added: "The new park will
protect not only the environment but also areas that are essential to
the traditional ways of life of the Inuit and the Cree. A determined,
united pressure group headed by our communities and regional
organizations working with conservation groups has fulfilled its
mission, which will strengthen our confidence in the efficacy of the
environmental protection regime established under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement."

"One of the key issues in the coming years will be to protect various
wildlife and plant species destabilized, among other things, by climate
change and human activities. It is, therefore, a question of acting
locally, but of perceiving in a comprehensive perspective the
preservation of the territory and its natural resources. That is what
we are achieving today with the proposed park," Scott McKay,
Parliamentary Assistant, concluded.

A unique natural site
The Parc national Tursujuq will offer visitors unique, spectacular
vistas on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. Part of the region includes,
in particular, the most imposing system of cuestas (asymmetrical
ridges) in Québec, part of which will be preserved in the national
park. It also features immense lakes, including Lac Guillaume-Delisle,
which is linked to Hudson Bay by a narrow channel called "the
bottleneck," which the Inuit call Tursujuq. Lac à l'Eau-Claire, located
just to the east, is the second biggest lake in Québec, with an area of
1 226 km2.

The future park will protect several sensitive components of northern
biodiversity and habitats. Mention should be made, among other things,
of the harbour seal population, a species likely to be designated as
threatened or vulnerable in Québec, which lives in the Lacs des Loups
Marins sector. Beluga whales in the eastern Hudson Bay, harlequin
ducks, short-eared owls and a unique population of landlocked salmon
and over 80 rare plant species are also part of the territory's varied
biodiversity.

Teamwork
The establishment of the national park stems from collaboration between
the Québec government, the Aboriginal communities of Umiujaq,
Kuujjuarapik, Whapmagoostui and Inukjuak, the Makivik Corporation and
the KRG. It falls within the scope of the implementation of the Partnership Agreement on Economic and Community Development in Nunavik(Sanarrutik Agreement), ratified in 2002.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Élizabeth Larouche noted that "the
Québec government wishes in this way to abide by the agreements signed
with the Aboriginal nations in its territory. This huge national park
will protect natural sites that the Inuit and the Cree, who have
frequented them for thousands of years, cherish, and will ensure
harmonious relations between us."

Minister responsible for the Nord-du-Québec region and Minister for
Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs and Sovereignist Governance
Alexandre Cloutier wished to convey the following message: "The
establishment of this new national park in Nunavik proves the
importance of perseverance and negotiation to carry out a common
project of this scope. The Parc national Tursujuq will be a source of
pride for everyone who helps us to discover it in the coming years, but
also Nunavik, the Nord-du-Québec region and Québec overall."

Following the establishment of the Parc national Tursujuq, the
government and the KRG will sign an agreement to assign to the latter
the park's management. In addition to a budget to manage the park, the
KRG will have a capital expenditure budget estimated at $8 million over
five years. Accordingly, $3 million will be invested initially to build
a reception centre and garage-warehouse and to rebuild the access road
to the Parc national Tursujuq.

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